Concept Statement: Deeper Desire
‘Consumer’ has become one of the biggest roles that we play in our lives. It determines our value to the rest of society as a citizen that is constructive, stimulates the economy and is a ‘normal’ individual. This leads to a larger emphasis being placed on the amount of possessions a person has, where they live and what they look being a defining factor about the amount of value our society seeing in a person, but also how we judge and view each other. We need to become more aware as to how advertising and branding is influencing the way that we live our lives, and critically evaluate our desires in order pursue only our true goals, rather then what is being dictated to us by our external social environment. This work explores the idea that our superficial desires restrict our ability to access and achieve our more substantial ones. Our lives are more about the external ‘surface’ layer rather then the deeper and more important.
The textual element of this work was strongly influenced by the work of Ellen Rothenburg in her political piece, ‘Public Address’ 2008. The contextual placement of her strong typography on picket signs is what gives the words their power. The placement of texturally created words on mass is something that was replicated within this work, giving it the overwhelming and powerful look that it creates during close up shots. It also creates a claustrophobic element when viewed underwater, preventing you from rising to the surface immediately for air if it were needed. Guildor, an artist from Milan, explored the use of floating text in his installations ‘Write on the Water’ 2014, illustrating the understanding that there are certain ideas and things that we need to hold onto in life, and the rest we just have to let float by. This acts as a different representation of almost the same concept, however this work is less minimalistic with a higher focus on consumer culture.
Delving deeper into desire needed to be explored in a literal sense to help expand this works meaning. There is a sense of personal connection that people associate with their backyard swimming pools. It symbolises the purities of an Australian childhood, a hint of affluence and an ownership that isn’t found with public pools or oceans. A pool is cared for, chemicals are balanced, leaves are removed, its a living body within itself. Many other artist have explored these concepts, one being Lizze Buckmaster-Dove in her artwork ‘Pool, the Alchemy of Blue’. The collection of pool fragments after the sea reclaimed them, mirrors the fragmentation of the letter that was included within this work. There is also the included understanding that these paper works will break down in the water, being reclaimed as they sit there. This illustrates the breaking down of our need for the fulfillment of our superficial desires as we grow older through life, becoming more aware of our value due to more important factors of life.
The words were not crafted by hand, but programed into and cut out by machine. This creates a very different feeling within these words, a stricter, mass produced look. There are no human errors, only the perfection of the machine. This creates a link between the mass produced consumerist culture, full of bright colours and glossy ads, and the superficial desires that are central to my concept.
This installation captures deterioration process of the paper over time, demonstrating the ever changing nature and importance of these superficial desires as we move through life. Some stay with us throughout, like an interesting in fashion, while others, like being possessive an attached to an iPhone, dissipate in the place of more important things. It is through being literally immersed in the work that the audience experiences this cyclic desire system, and can actually take something away from the work.
If we can become critically aware of how what were exposed to effects us, then we can see through advertisement and the pressures of society to be more conscious in the way we live rather then another gear in the machine. As a society, we all need to be immersing ourselves in our true essence of being, exploring all our unique and interesting qualities. This include spirituality, love, relationships, life goals, travel, hobbies, past times, families, relaxation, sport, anything that supports who we truly want to be as a person and helps us to enjoy our lives. Life’s too short to be entangled in the trapping of our consumerist, superficial, hive minded society. Be aware of what your being shown by the media, consider their motives and then consider the desires you hold for yourself.
